live steel
800*600




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This is where you will find useful information on HOW TO to many of the things that we assume are regular processes for our ship.


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This is MY opinion, and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the KAG (it contradicts), or the LSWA (no policy), or the ship that I belong to. It is potentially inflamatory so read on at your own risk. It is about the Live Steel Rule. But some may feel that Loyalty, Honor, Duty are mere words at the beginning of a video game, and take offense with those of us living those words in the REAL world every day.


I, too have an issue with the live steel Rule.

It is necessary for a lot of "clubs" around the U.S. where the klingons wear their personae with their "costumes" and are hardly a step up from mundanes. But in a ship whereby the klingon characters are mere extensions of our daily real selves, this Rule becomes less necessary for safety of the masses. Some ships out there must have cool headed, experienced Warriors with military or police backgrounds. In a ship such as these and the ones that we have in the DFW area, we are the same person in and out of uniform. Many of us are current or former military, fireman, police, or EMT. There is training and experience with real life situations. And this training and experience can be passed on to the "greener" membership.

Another factor in the training and competance category is pure experience with these weapons. The IKV Melota holds weekly batleth practice. The ships in the area as a whole hold two combat Tournaments per year. The experience and understanding of handling padded weapons carries over to handling our aluminum weapons. Practice, Practice, Practice. You get safe handling ingrained the same way that proper firearms handling is drilled into soldiers and police cadets.

Our local ships work as security at some of the local conventions. We bring our steel (aluminum) for this service. We serve as security under the LSWA banner or as independents, not as KAG and therefore are absolved from KAG Rules. The live steel is for display purposes. It looks better than padded wood. It is not expected to be used. This would be considered a "parade" occasion.

There is also the fact that with swords and other weapons being sold at the conventions. This means mundanes handling steel in public. It also could mean a theft/robbery of a piece of steel in a crowded room. We are the ONLY security elements present TRAINED for steel upon steel combat. We are the ONLY security elements TRAINED to fight in squads without fratricide. Police officers of the U.S have not carried swords since before 1890 and therefore they are NOT trained to face them without using a firearm, which is an immediate escalation of force. This is dangerous in a crowded room. Bullets can pass through the target into a bystander. Before one complains that swinging metal in a crowed room is just as dangerous (the unqualified expose themselves on this point), the range of metal is its length and your arm, not miles. Bullets have no "flat side"; they are all "edge" and will draw blood, always. Matching force can offer the ability to "convince" without the danger of putting holes in 3 people with one shot. If we had to assume officer de jure authority persuant to the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure to affect an arrest or neutralize a "Crime Against the Peace", we are a) equiped, b) TRAINED, and have the Duty to do so.

(quick aside... before you laugh too hard. Watch the news, Riot police around the world use 1st Century Roman tactics and not their firearms.)

Finally, the Rule is somewhat moot when training, licensing and commissioning allows some of us to carry firearms. Where our Warriors are commissioned, the State of Texas expects them to remained fully armed and grants them the capacity to carry live steel and live firearms at all times. Some of our Warriors are licensed. Live steel or not, these Warriors owe it to the State of Texas to be ready to serve pursuant to the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. It is a Duty assigned by the State regardless of KAG's Rule.

So the live steel Rule makes sense for untrained KAG personnel. But for trained Warriors, and/or Warriors carrying firearms pursuant to State Law, it is a bit rediculous.

Salek
Ship's Brewer


----Original Message-----
>From:
>Subject: Steel away the fun! >Type: IPM.Note
>Date: Monday, June 24, 2002 15:40
>On Mon, 24 Jun 2002 09:44:19 -0400, you wrote:


2003 Update:
A practical application of this essay occured 4 months and 5 days after it was written.
We found out in 2003 that while doing Security for a Haunted House in 2002, we apparently thwarted a gang fight that had been planned.
Our armed and armored presence caused a gang to choose to leave rather than tangle with the other gang that was present. Best guess is that they were worried that we might get involved. My Batleth and Krell's 8 foot spear seemed to have been a deterrant.
Cdr. Salek Sutai 2003


     










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